Document Type : Original Article

Authors

• Alireza Shohani ¹
• Fereshteh Maleki ²

¹ Associate Professor, Department of Persian Language and Literature, Ilam University

² PhD in Persian Language and Literature, University of Ilam

Abstract

Introduction: The purpose of the current research is to study the psychological and less branched aspects of one of the most prominent novels of the late nineteenth century England, namely, The Picture of Dorian by Oscar Wilde. Regardless of its Gothic aspect and its moral and artistic aesthetics, this novel is a work with psychological approaches that can be interpreted and analyzed based on psychologist theories such as Freud, so after expressing Freud's concepts and theories about personality structure, in a descriptive way - An analysis was done to analyze and explain their relationship with different dimensions of characters in the novel. The findings of the research showed that the main essence of the story is the combination of different aspects of the human personality structure and their conflict, which leads to the dominance of the institution over me and the ignoring super-ego due to the destructive emotional relationship that is formed between id and ego. Nevertheless, the ultimate superiority is with super-ego. Based on this, the characters of the novel are in a way the embodiment of Freud's personality structure theory; Dorian Gray is id, Henry is ego, Basil is super-ego, the painting is another representation of super-ego and the dark room where Gray hides the painting is a symbol of Gray's subconscious mind. The most used defense mechanisms are projection, rationalization and suppression
Background of study:Sigmund Freud's views on the recognition of personality and the structure of the human mind are very outstanding and wonderful. His ideas in this field have also influenced literature and caused psychological criticism of literary works. Psychological criticism is one of the widely used criticisms that is used in the review and evaluation of literary texts and has a special place in literature.
Freud's theories on the structure of the human mind and personality are among his most important views, which were very influential in the development and evolution of literary criticism and gave it direction. According to this view, the mind and personality of each person consists of three parts: Conscious, semi-conscious and unconscious. Based on the unconscious, Freud divided the human mind and personality into three parts: id, ego, and superego.
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) is one of the outstanding figures of English literature, who has portrayed a new and rare subject with precision and artistry in her only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray.
The basic point in the field of analysis of literary texts with the approach of psychological criticism is that the work must have the context and capability of psychoanalytical criticism so that the researcher can properly criticize it. In addition to mixing the human desire for immortality with moral and artistic values and scary themes, this work is a psychological work in which the author has depicted the human psyche and the conflict of internal forces in the form of different characters. Literary criticism from the perspective of psychology examines the work from various aspects such as the author's personality, content and text, the effect on the reader and how the work was created; But what is most important in literature is the study of the work itself from any point of view. In other words, the most use of psychoanalytic criticism in literature and art is the application of psychological principles in the work itself
Methodology: The current research is based on the psychoanalytical analysis of characters and events related to them by adopting a descriptive-analytical approach and using the method of data collection using library sources and authentic documents.
Conclusion: Spreading the psychological parts of a character in the form of multiple characters has made the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray capable of psychological criticism and analysis. The three structures of a person's existence,: id, ego, and superego., which were Freud's intellectual achievement, exert their influence on the personality; id and superego  are constantly struggling and trying to overcome each other. ego tries to establish a balance between these two, if this effort is successful, the person will enjoy mental health, otherwise, one will prevail over the other and lead to personality disorders. The tension between three conflicting characters in the novel is a vehicle for visualizing the tension between three powerful human instincts. The controversial relationship between Henry and Basil is a diagram of the conflict between the two opposite poles of id and superego . Personality Gray  is the embodiment of all human beings who are constantly in the tension between the id and superego . Since the power of the Gray ego structure is weak , his personality system is exposed to damage with absolute desire towards the  id and in a gradual collapse, the arena of the union of the ego and the id becomes As a result, the two symbols of superego, namely Basil and  picture , are ignored, one by being killed and the other by hiding in a room that is the concrete manifestation of the unconscious mind, and its darkness and special space are parallel to the dark side of Gray psychosis.

Keywords

• Oscar Wilde
• The Picture of Dorian Gray
• Psychological criticism
• Freud
• Character

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